The Loveless Arms*

The Loveless Arms*

A Poem by Paris Hlad

The Loveless Arms

A Poem by Paris Hlad

(A Context for the Poem)
Inspired by the Recollection of a Boy Who Was
Verbally Abused in a British Literature Class
And Was That Winter Pronounced DOA
At the Orange County Trauma Center.
--
Occasionally, a student dies.
It is a reality that most teachers face.
 I once had twin sisters in a senior English class who excelled in the study of Hamlet. They were bright, attractive, and replete with the special ambitions of youth. One evening, the firstborn committed suicide in the family garage. No one seemed to know why �" But her sister said that she was an extreme perfectionist who solved problems as they came up.
No exceptions!
And no pointless delays!
-----
The young walker in the poem that follows was a charming but super-unhappy kid who seemed overwhelmed by the cacophony of physical existence. The last time I saw him in British literature class, I reprimanded him for giggling during my lecture. He said that he was giggling because he thought that I was funny. That evening, the boy was killed in a freak accident on a local highway. The poem derives from my having noticed him walking home in a snowstorm earlier that winter. His name was Mike.
The Loveless Arms
(Or The Frigid Heart of Earth)
The street lights hang like loveless arms along the avenue
And you would flee their cold embrace, as you have life to do 
For you are like a blade of ice 
That cuts into the night
And splits the frigid
Heart of Earth 
Like some unholy rite
Your steps fly out into the void but groan beneath your feet, 
And snowflakes fly about your face and mock your sad retreat
Your bitter, slighted egress goes
Without a reason known  
Yet in this season’s rout of love, 
Your heart remains his own! 
Oh, slight, dear boy, young walker sad, your spirit God will keep,
Beyond the reach of loveless arms, where you forever sleep.
---
“Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit,
For Theirs Is the Kingdom of Heaven.”
-Matthew 5:3

© 2023 Paris Hlad


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Added on August 8, 2023
Last Updated on August 8, 2023

Author

Paris Hlad
Paris Hlad

Southport, NC, United States Minor Outlying Islands



About
I am a 70-year-old retired New York state high school English teacher, living in Southport, NC. more..

Writing